King Solomon's Mines

2008-10-29T01:35:56Z2008-11-28T22:31:07Z

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Archaeologists say they may have found one of King Solomon's mines. In Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers Thomas Levy and Mohammad Najjar say they discovered a copper-production center in southern Jordan that dates to the 10th century B.C., the time of Solomon's reign.

Located south of the Dead Sea, the region was known in the Old Testament as Edom. Previous research at the site indicated that metalworking began there in the 7th century B.C., long after Solomon. But Levy and Najjar dug deeper and were able to date materials to the 10th century B.C. Levy said, "This research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible.''